West Side Story 1961

Really deserving of 5 stars on this one; the stars being a metric of overall quality of a movie. The lighting, coloring, plot, pacing, editing, and direction all shine through. There’s something magical about movies from the 60s; they have a certain quality and gravitas to them that’s able to absorb the viewer in a way most movies nowadays fail to do. The editors know to keep the camera on the performances and not quick cut away into high paced action like all other movies these days. Also, the choreography and editing of the dancing specifically is astonishing. The cast works really well together as well. The sign for me a good movie musical is if all the music could be taken away and the movie could still stand as a movie; this movie definitely accomplishes that. Perfect movie. And a sort of nice noir touch throughout. Coloring and lighting how could I forget. Great movie